–questions legitimacy

GENERAL Secretary of the governing People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has raised serious concerns about the Guyana Press Association (GPA) being registered in the name of its president, Nazima Raghubir.

During a press conference on Thursday, Dr. Jagdeo revealed that he had believed the GPA to be a legally constituted body, either incorporated under the Companies Act or the Friendly Society Act, and expected it to comply with certain rules.

However, he discovered that there was no corporate body or society registered as the Guyana Press Association, and as such has expressed worry that the organisation being registered under a trade name owned by Nazima could potentially result in her walking away with it, thereby rendering the body non-representative.

According to the registration seen by this publication, the business name is listed as “Guyana Press Association”. Business No.:216005: Status: NEW. The two addresses associated with the registration are a private residence and a business entity.

Dr. Jagdeo also raised questions about the GPA’s acceptance of grants from overseas agencies, as it is unclear whose account these funds are deposited into.

He emphasised the need to clarify whether tax returns have been filed under the business name, and whether information regarding membership fees and foreign aid has been disclosed to everyone.

Given that the Association is registered under a private individual’s name, he found this arrangement highly unusual.

“This is all in a private person’s name; I find this very unusual,” Dr Jagdeo explained.

Recently, Chief Justice Roxane George threw out an application filed by social media commentator Mikhail Rodrigues, better known as ‘The Guyanese Critic’, for processing the membership application.

In her ruling, Justice George said that having perused the GPA’s Constitution, it is not “a corporate or any kind of registered entity that has personality that can sue or be sued.”
Jadgeo said that Rodrigues’ application was misconceived because of this issue.

“I wonder when all of these statements are made on behalf of journalists here, whether the international bodies are aware of the state of affairs of this organisation,” he added.
Following the GPA’s elections last Sunday, the entity has found itself in a deepening crisis, as more accusations of election rigging and a disregard for principles of decency, transparency, accountability, and fairness emerged.

“It’s unbelievable what happened! From what I read, the state of the rigging that took place! Plain and simple. This would never be tolerated anywhere in the world. This is something that is shameful,” Dr. Jagdeo said.

Neil Marks, a former GPA President and a presidential candidate, expressed his disappointment in an open letter highlighting the absence of a challenger in previous elections, and the lack of transparency in the recent election process.

Marks requested access to a list of eligible voters, but was met with dismissive responses from Raghubir, and the GPA’s then Secretary, Svetlana Marshall-Abrams.
Suspicions arose regarding a padded voter list, and selective membership applications, raising doubts about the integrity of the electoral process. Despite pleas for transparency, the release of the voters’ list was rejected. Marks proposed options to ensure fairness, but the GPA executive met his efforts with silence.

During the Annual General Meeting, Marks took photographs of the list, revealing multiple individuals who did not meet the constitutional requirements for GPA membership and voting.
Marks stressed that the GPA elections were rigged, severely damaging the organisation’s reputation as a champion of democracy and accountability.

“Under the constitutional provisions, their jobs make them ineligible for voting under the GPA’s Constitution. With the photos of the list now with me, I quickly could see others who do not qualify: A taxi driver, a farmer, and a handyman. On the list, too, were former editors and media workers who no longer work or contribute to news gathering or dissemination in any way. There were certainly many who recently started working in the media, and did not meet the three-year requirement to vote.

“So, there is no other way to say it: The GPA elections were rigged,” Marks said.